Monday

It's OK for white people to want to use the environmental justice laws to protect their community and for black people who don't care about their own to support them.

But when the black community tries to use the same laws it's a double-standard. All we get are deaf ears, blind eyes, mute voices and blocked noses, from people who don't even have a HEART!

Environmental injustice is about racism.

The City Council voted against The Environmental Justice Ordinance — all 11 of them — because it would hurt small business, but then they vote for Parallel Products.

Now they are crying environmental justice for the white community but they would not support the black community.

What is sickening is that lead, asbestos, vinyl chloride, diesel, radon, PCBs will disable you or kill you. You may have some diesel, at the most you will have a nasty odor, but it won't disable you or kill you. The health effects are like day and night. In this case the difference is like black and white.

We knew about Parallel Products in December 2018 but by March was totally against it for one reason — that know one should have to live near a dump such as this rich or poor, black or white.

What about Shawmut Avenue? No one helped us to deal with the smell, trash, the blight and all the trucks and traffic through that neighborhood, and it it still a problem today. They live with it. Oh, three public housing developments — Presidential Heights, Brickenwood and Nashmont — who cares.

What about Cannon Street Power Plant, Morse Cutting Tools, Goodyear, New Bedford Harbor and the list goes on, on, and on in our community?

Common sense would not have permitted a dump in a beautiful Business Park. Ward 1, if you think this just happened, well, you're wrong. Some of those people marching with you and others knew of this project — they just forgot to tell you. Remember November 5, 2019.

John G. "Buddy" Andrade

President

Minority Action Committee

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